12-25-2021, 12:21 AM
Adrian won a genuine smirk from her; usually, she was the one making such an accusation and not the one being accused, though if he believed a few pretty lights constituted showing off he was sorely mistaken. She offered no correction; that he thought she cared to impress him was no bad thing, and honestly, by the tone he spoke and the curious way it made her feel, she realised with some small modicum of surprise that it might not be so far from the truth. In reality, the display was intended as neither of those things; it seemed he’d not yet pieced together her meaning, though she was quite willing to both forgive and indulge his distraction.
“You know the answer to that,” she teased, though did not specify to which of his questions she meant the answer. Amusement lingered, but she was more aware of him than she had been. He was handsome, and even a few months ago that alone would have been enough to tease herself closer than the distance he already bridged, invitation or no invitation. Natalie wasn’t above using baser manipulation either, if it got her what she wanted. But she’d already discarded the idea of any manipulation at all when it came to Adrian. Given his familial estrangement, she did not think duplicity would be well received, and honesty would be a refreshing change of pace. At least if their goals aligned. She did not want an ally whose perceptions of her had to be constantly managed.
The bloom of a genuine attraction was unexpected, but whatever the betraying rush of heat in her body, for now she was more interested in taking his measure than toying with the sudden realisation. Given the assumptions she had made of his character, she was curious to see if he’d retreat without her encouragement, or take the risk of her rejection by pushing further just to see. The long game of patience was what she expected, though. A challenge, she supposed, and not one she was sure it was wise to make. She was wholly aware of his proximity though.
“This will be a school, with a little investment from the right places,” she told him instead.
Nikolai Brandon had spoken to her of noble values once, ones that might have inflamed a heart like Natalie’s (and indeed, she had not forgotten them), but she’d seen little to win loyalty in his actual actions. He promised Evelyn peace while he trained elite soldiers deep beneath the Kremlin’s foundations, and meanwhile children died for want of a little knowledge. And worse. The haunt of America’s facility was not soon to leave her mind.
A channeling school, was what she meant. And a refuge, for those that needed it. It was the least of what she intended, really, but it relied on the veneer at least. To exist within the Custody, and separate from it, should that ever be a need. The government failed in its duty to educate girls dying from the Sickness – hell, it wasn’t doing anything for the young men, either (unless, she thought dryly, they were of some proven use). But there was less she could do about that, and everything she could do about this. Not that it was born from altruism, but for now he could believe whatever he wished of her motivations.
“You know the answer to that,” she teased, though did not specify to which of his questions she meant the answer. Amusement lingered, but she was more aware of him than she had been. He was handsome, and even a few months ago that alone would have been enough to tease herself closer than the distance he already bridged, invitation or no invitation. Natalie wasn’t above using baser manipulation either, if it got her what she wanted. But she’d already discarded the idea of any manipulation at all when it came to Adrian. Given his familial estrangement, she did not think duplicity would be well received, and honesty would be a refreshing change of pace. At least if their goals aligned. She did not want an ally whose perceptions of her had to be constantly managed.
The bloom of a genuine attraction was unexpected, but whatever the betraying rush of heat in her body, for now she was more interested in taking his measure than toying with the sudden realisation. Given the assumptions she had made of his character, she was curious to see if he’d retreat without her encouragement, or take the risk of her rejection by pushing further just to see. The long game of patience was what she expected, though. A challenge, she supposed, and not one she was sure it was wise to make. She was wholly aware of his proximity though.
“This will be a school, with a little investment from the right places,” she told him instead.
Nikolai Brandon had spoken to her of noble values once, ones that might have inflamed a heart like Natalie’s (and indeed, she had not forgotten them), but she’d seen little to win loyalty in his actual actions. He promised Evelyn peace while he trained elite soldiers deep beneath the Kremlin’s foundations, and meanwhile children died for want of a little knowledge. And worse. The haunt of America’s facility was not soon to leave her mind.
A channeling school, was what she meant. And a refuge, for those that needed it. It was the least of what she intended, really, but it relied on the veneer at least. To exist within the Custody, and separate from it, should that ever be a need. The government failed in its duty to educate girls dying from the Sickness – hell, it wasn’t doing anything for the young men, either (unless, she thought dryly, they were of some proven use). But there was less she could do about that, and everything she could do about this. Not that it was born from altruism, but for now he could believe whatever he wished of her motivations.